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Vincent Gono in Matobo
THE Government has appealed to businesses in the tourism sector to pay decent wages to employees saying it will continue adopting various strategies to ensure sustainable long-term growth of the sector so that the projected target of more than 300 000 jobs are created by 2030 as espoused in the National Tourism Plan.
Officiating at the 2019 UNWTO World Tourism Day main celebrations in Matobo District on Friday, the acting Minister of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality, Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu, said the tourism sector was a low hanging fruit with relatively unobstructed access for most common folk, permitting traditionally disenfranchised groups like women, youth and the disabled to participate in the national economy. He was quick to call on businesses in the sector to consider decent salaries and better working conditions to employees as a motivating factor.
Minister Ndlovu said the target under the National Tourism Plan to create 330 000 jobs in the sector was in line with this year’s theme, “Tourism and Jobs — A better future for all” adding that they were looking at surpassing the number as there was a lot of untapped potential in the sector.
“In this modern age of the industrial and post-industrial state, factors like education, age, poverty, disability and many others bear a palpable influence on an individual’s likelihood to land a job in any given economy.
“Industries like tourism are a low hanging fruit with relatively unobstructed access for most common folk, permitting traditionally disenfranchised groups like women, youth and the disabled to participate in the national economy.
“Nevertheless, Government remains cognisant that these industries attract vulnerable and low skilled workers in as much as they remain valuable to our poverty alleviation agenda,” he added.
He said the Government was scaling up efforts to promote and encourage investment in tourism related infrastructure with such interventions as the rehabilitation and modernisation of airport infrastructure, duty exemptions for the importation of tourism capital goods and safari vehicles which would go a long way in increasing the country’s tourism share in the global economy.
The minister reiterated that tourism was a major economic driver which had brought together people of diverse cultures, created lasting friendships, as well as facilitate the exchange of ideas amongst cultures.
He said Matabeleland possesses a vast history, beautiful landscapes, flora and fauna, as well as a colourful heritage which remains for its inhabitants to interpret to the outside world adding that people should position themselves to reap the benefits of those wonderful gifts and endowments.
“I am encouraged by the likes of the Gwanda Gospel Festival, which is hosted annually in Gwanda by Bigtime Strategic Group.
There is no doubt that Festivals like these avail locals a rare opportunity to display their culture in music and dance, and opportunity to draw national and international interest, and in the process generating the much-needed income in the communities they are held,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said his ministry would continue to work with such organisations to promote festival tourism as one vehicle to create local jobs.
“In order to create jobs through tourism it is also essential that we devolve the investment focus to provinces and have a provincial investment focus for the sector. In this regard, I call upon the tourism private and public sectors to develop various tourism products at different places throughout the province like the Lumene Falls near Mtshabezi Dam, which is largely undeveloped for tourism, regardless of its huge potential for water-based tourism activities,” he said.
Minister Ndlovu said Matabeleland South was home to the wonderful Nsimbi Cave where the San lived hundreds of years ago and the Matobo National Park. He said the province had all the ingredients to become a prime tourist destination, owing to its exceptional tourism assets and a resourceful people and called on the private sector to help invest in tourist attractions around these natural wonders to help build the provincial tourism economy.
The event was attended by Matabeleland South Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Abednico Ncube, Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Permanent Secretary Mr Munesushe Munodawafa, Primary and Secondary Education Deputy Minister Edgar Moyo who is also the local Member of Parliament for the area, senior Government officials and chiefs.
Online Reporter